Death Metal
by BlindClown
Summary: 10 year old Gavin and his mother are abused and murdered by his uncle. Gavin returns in the form of his teenage self to hunt down the man who destroyed his former life.
1. Innocense Lost

New Page 1

"Mother is the name 

For God on the 

Hearts and Lips 

Of all Children"

Innocence Lost
Tears run down the little boy's face.He is hiding in a closet, very scared, very afraid of the events that are taking place in his mother's bedroom.He can hear his uncle screaming at her, and the pitiful cries of his mother."Goddamnit bitch, what did you do with my fucking money?" he screams.He backhands her, knocking one of her teeth onto the floor.
"Mother…" the little boy mumbles out, so softly that only he hears it."I don't have it!I needed to buy food for me and Gavin," the mother says through the blood in her mouth."Does it look like I give a damn about you or that bastard son of yours?" the uncle Lucien yells.
"Just don't hurt him!" Sondra, the mother, exclaims."Oh, I'm going to hurt you both very badly if you don't come up with my fucking money in about two minutes!" he yells."Lucien, I don't have your goddamn money!" she says.He hits her again, this time harder than the last.
Little Gavin hugs his teddy bear, tears flowing down his face.He prays to a God he doesn't understand.He prays for mercy.Lucien walks over to a small table by the bed and gets his beer.He guzzles down half the bottle and continues to yell and scream at Sondra about his money.
She makes the mistake of saying, "What do you care about that money anyhow?You were just going to use it buy more crack!"That comment only enrages the drunk and high Lucien even more.He reaches under the back of his shirt and pulls out a pistol.He points the gun at Sondra and screams, "What the fuck did you say bitch?How dare you insult me?I have done nothing but take care of you and your son since Marcus died!"
"You have done nothing but leech money off of me and abuse us!Get out of my home, get out of my fucking life!" the nerve-wrecked-mother yells.Lucien uses the butt of the pistol to hit Sondra across the face.Blood splatters on the closet door.Gavin looks down to see blood dripping on the floor, the blood of his own mother.
Not a day goes by that Gavin doesn't think of his father Marcus.His father was murdered two years ago in the back of an alley.He was shot four times in the chest, robbed of all his money and valuables.Gavin knows that if his father were still alive, then Lucien wouldn't abuse him and his mother.For the past two years, ever since Marcus hasn't been around to protect them, Lucien has stolen their money, hit them, and abused them in every way possible.
Gavin can remember all the nights when Lucien has come into their home drunk or high or both, and raped his mother.Gavin always hides in the closet, always listening to the sounds.Now he sits listening to his mother crying, he watches her blood drip onto the floor.
Sondra cries out, "Just leave us alone!We don't want your pain anymore!"Lucien kicks her in the stomach, causing her to vomit."Shut the fuck up bitch!" he yells.He points the gun at her and says, "Goddamnit, your nothing more than a whore.You should be glad Marcus is dead; he was nothing more than a pussy anyhow.I'm much more of a man than he ever was."
Lucien leans over her, trying to force himself on her.But Sondra is tired and worn out from the constant fighting, the constant abuse.She knees him in the groin and he backs off screaming."Fuck you bitch!" he screams."I told you to leave us alone!" she screams back.He shoots a bullet through the ceiling and Sondra screams for her life.In the closet, Gavin shudders at the sound of the gun.He squeezes onto his teddy bear even tighter.
"Now maybe I'll put the next bullet in you!" Lucien screams as he aims the gun at Sondra."Burn in Hell you bastard!" Sondra cries out."That's it bitch, I've had enough of you!" Lucien yells.
Suddenly from the closet, Gavin comes out running.Lucien pulls the trigger, sending a bullet speeding towards Sondra.However, as fate would have it, Gavin intercepts the bullet with the center of his forehead.The fallen child lies before his crying mother."Oh my god…" she mumbles out.She takes the dead bloody child into her arms and screams a scream like no other.
Lucien just laughs and says, "Might as well.I was going to kill the kid anyhow.And you know what is ironic?This is the same gun I used to kill Marcus with."Sondra looks up at Lucien with wide eyes and mumbles out, "No…""Time to meet your maker, bitch!" Lucien says as he pulls the trigger.
The fallen mother falls over her fallen child.Two bodies, bonded by DNA and undying love, have just died together in each other's arms.Two beautiful souls destroyed by evil, destroyed by darkness of the world.
Lucien knows the police have already been called because of the gunfire.As he rushes out of the room, he notices something strange.Sondra's blood on the closet door has splattered into a unique pattern, the pattern of a bloody bird.He stares at the symbol for a moment, but then he hears the sound of police sirens.He rushes out into the night.
Now there is no more pain for them.
Pain is for the enemy.
Pain and bullets.
River of Blood
The sky above is a very dark blue._How did I get here?_The water is black like oil._Who am I?_Above in the sky, three black crows fly gently.Soaring above all hate and pain, soaring above this river of blood._Is this a dream?_The small wooden boat slowly makes it way down the river.A small boy wearing a black robe and skull mask paddles the boat along._Or is this a nightmare?_
The crows start to caw, as if signaling for something.The small boy stops paddling and turns around to look at me.The skull mask looks like something from a festival or a cheap horror movie."Are you awake yet?" he asks me.I still feel so dazed and confused."I guess…" I mumbled out.
I sit up and look around.All I can see is the black oily water.And above, I can make out the golden eyes of the three crows."Where am I?" I ask.The boy replies, "You're stuck."
"Stuck?"
"Yes, stuck.Stuck between this world and the next."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Hell has nothing to do with this.This has to do with love, with revenge."
I look back up at the three crows.They continue to soar gracefully above us.I feel like I could lose myself in their golden eyes."Their names are Merlin, Draco, and Taurus.I suggest you become friends with them quickly," the boy says."Why?" I ask.
"Because they are your guides back into the World of the Living."
"Guides for what?"
"Fear."
"This has to be a dream."
"No, but the nightmare is just beginning."
The small boy begins to rock the boat side to side.He giggles that unforgettable laugh of a child.As the boat rocks, I begin to lose my balance."Hey, what are you doing?" I yell.The small boy just continues to rock the boat.Finally I lose my balance all together and fall into the black oil.
_I can't swim!_I sink into complete blackness._Shouldn't I be drowning?_But why do I continue to breathe underwater.Wait a minute, was I breathing before on the boat?Quicker and quicker I sink to the bottom.The darkness around me swirls and consumes me.Slowly, I begin to lose consciousness.Then I see a face in the water, the face of a woman.I feel somehow connected with this woman, like we share some great bond.And that was it.I lost it.I drowned in the darkness.
The Road Through Hell
A lightning storm rages above.But there is no rain, only lightning and loud thunder.I scream as I roll on the ground.I can hear the crows cawing, hitting their beaks on something hard.I open my eyes to see a world around me.A world of the dead.Tombstones as far as the eye can see.Hills and hills of the dead.I roll onto my knees and look up at the crows.
All three of them are perched on a tombstone.It has the name of Gavin Walker written into it.According to the dates, he was 10 years old.Just a boy, just a child.There are fresh flowers on the grave, and on the next two graves.They have the names of Marcus Walker and Sondra Walker.A whole family dead?
The crows continue to caw and hit their beaks on the tombstone of the young boy.I reach out and touch the tombstone, and suddenly my mind is flooded with raging memories, emotions, and the past itself.
I see a wedding of two young lovers, the woman already pregnant.I can see them kissing, and how white her wedding dress was.I see the husband carrying his pregnant wife into the home, just like the old tradition.I see happiness, I see bliss.But then I see pain, I see death.I see the husband, Marcus, having a fight with some mysterious figure in an alley.Then gunshots ring out.Marcus falls to the ground dead, and I hear a somewhat familiar laughter.
I scream with rage and punch as hard as I can into the ground.The crows continue to caw.More visions enter my head.I see a young boy, Gavin, playing with his happy father.I see him getting a teddy bear for Christmas.The Christmas before his father died.It was the last thing he ever gave him!
Visions of a funeral come next.Everyone dressed in black, all of them mourning over a silver casket.Inside lays the body of Marcus, the lover, the father.I see the small boy Gavin being led by his hand by his mother up to the casket.Pain!Torment!All of these emotions raging through my body.I scream again into the endless night.
Then I see a mysterious figure abusing Sondra and Gavin.Hitting them, kicking them, making them hurt, making them bleed.This torment of abuse lasted for two years until it finally ended.With another violent vision, I see Gavin running out of the closet to save his mother from a bullet.I see the bullet tearing into his head, killing him.I see his blood and brains splattering onto his mother.Then another gunshot, and the mother fell over her own child.Both of them murdered!
I stand up and try to hit the three crows, but they fly off before I can even come close to touching them."Why are you showing me this?What does any of this have to do with me?" I scream.The ground around Gavin's grave begins to shake and rumble.I watch with horror as the words on his tombstone form the letters, REINCARNATION.Mysteriously, the letters form back to the original writing.
Small skeleton hands reach up from the grave and grab me.It tugs and pulls at me until finally it surfaces.It is the skeleton of a small boy, ripping and tearing at my chest.I scream as I fall to the ground.I can see the three crows circling around in the air.Painfully, the small skeleton rips into my chest and crawls inside me.
Lightning lights up the night, and thunder shatters all sound barriers.I am Gavin Walker, reincarnated.I am a ghost, an enigma of life.I run through the large cemetery, following the three crows.They lead me to the gate, and with ease I climb over it.On the streets, I continue to follow my black-feathered guides.
Violence Fetish
The crows lead me into the city's back allies.The one named Merlin lands on a trashcan and caws.I walk over to the trashcan and the crow flies back up into the air.I open it to find a torn and shredded long black jacket.I put the jacket on, flipping the collar up.I look back up at the sky, at the thunderstorm rolling in.The crows continue to caw and begin flying to my next destination.
"Freaks, get off our turf!" one of the guys says.There's a group of five, three guys and two girls.All of them from rich families, all of them dressed in the most expensive teenage designer clothes.But there stands Margaret and her two girlfriends.They are freaks, from head to toe:wild colored hair, body piercings, tattoos, black clothing, chains, spikes, you name it.The movie theater has always been the hangout for the preps, but on this night the freaks decided to come out and play.
My memory is still full of holes, and I need answers.The crows led me to this place for a reason.I recognize Margaret as being my cousin.And it looks like those preppy motherfuckers are picking on her and her friends pretty bad."This is a public place, we can be here if we want," Margaret says."No, this is a 'no freaks allowed' public place.So get lost," one of the rich girls says.
"Just let us by so we can buy a fucking ticket," Margaret says.She attempts to walk by them, but one of the guys pushes her down to the ground.Margaret gets really pissed and kicks him in the balls."Fuck!" he yells.As her two friends help her back up to her feet, one of the other guys pull out a pocketknife.
He puts the blade up to Margaret's face and says, "Get lost, whore.""Like the lady said, this is a public place, asshole," I said.Like a shadow I appeared out of nowhere, standing right next to the guy with the knife.They all look at me:dirty, wearing nothing but torn black pants and a torn long black jacket."Oh God, another freak," one of the rich girls say.
Margaret asks, "Who are you?"I smile and say, "A friend."The guy with the pocketknife points up to my throat and says, "Well you can get lost too, freak."I laugh a little and say, "'Let the bodies hit the floor'."I grab the guy's arm and break it.He screams and falls to his knees.
The other two guys jump on me, punching and kicking.I punch one in the ribs hard enough to break a couple, then I kick the other guy in his knee, snapping it backwards.With the three of them moaning in pain, I grin and say, "Goddamn I love violence!"The guy with the broken ribs picks up his friend's pocketknife and slashes me across my chest.
I don't bleed.The wound just heals itself.I look at the guy with the knife and say, "Naughty, naughty!"I snatch the knife away from him and stab it into his shoulder.He falls to the ground screaming.One of Margaret's friends says, "Holy shit."I point a finger to the ground and say, "No, trust me, there's nothing holy about this!"
The two preppy girls have alerted security of the situation.A security guard comes running out pointing a gun at me.He yells, "Freeze!"I start charging towards him, and he starts shooting me.The bullets have no effect on me.I charge right into him, knocking him to the ground.I snatch the gun away from him and hit him over the head with it, knocking him out cold.
"Hey, come on!" Margaret yells to me.I look over at her and her friends getting into their car.I can hear the police sirens nearby heading my way.I look up and see the three crows circling around in the air."I don't think going to jail would be a good thing at this point, do you?" I say to them before I take off running for Margaret's car.I hop in the backseat and we take off out of the parking lot.
Her two friends are up front; Margaret is in the backseat with me.The driver asks, "What the hell are you?""Death with wings," I respond.Margaret asks, "You look so familiar, do I know you?"I look into her eyes for a brief moment to answer, "You might."I look at my reflection in the window; I'm in the teenage body of myself, there's a hole in the center of my forehead, two black lines running all the way down my face from each of my eyes, black lips, and straight black lines running out of the corners of my mouth.
I look behind us to see the police speeding into the movie theater parking lot.I look up at the crows soaring above our car and whisper, "Close call back there, boys.""What did you say?" Margaret asks.I shake my head and say, "Nothing."The girl in the passenger seat asks, "Hey, what's your name?"
"In due time, all your questions will be answered.But first I need some answers of my own."
"Like what?" Margaret asks.
"How long has it been since I…Gavin Walker was murdered?"
"My cousin?It's been, oh what, three months I think.Why?Did you know him?"
"You could say that."
"How did you know him?"
"Just did."
"That's not an answer."
"It'll have to do.Where are we going?"
"My house," Margaret responds.
Mr. Teddy Did It
About ten minutes later we pull into Margaret's driveway.She lives in a trailer park full of whores and drug addicts.Her two friends decide to go on home, while Margaret takes me inside her trailer."Just make yourself at home," she says."I don't have a home anymore," I said.
Margaret goes into the small kitchen and fixes herself a Coke.She comes back and sits down on the couch."So are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" she asks."I'm a witch, I can use magic to heal myself and dodge bullets.Look outside your window and you'll see three very large black birds, those are my pals, my buddies, my partners, my comrades, my…" "I get the point," she interrupts.
"Yeah, sorry.I'm here to investigate the murder of your cousin and his parents.So anything you have to offer at this point would be greatly appreciated."
"You don't look like a cop.Hell, you look like your dead," she laughs, but I keep a straight serious face.
"Oh let me guess, other than being a witch, instant healing, dodging bullets, and having three crows for friends, you're also dead?Do you really expect me to believe any of this?"
"Why not, you've already seen what I can do?And if you didn't believe some of it, then why am I standing in your living room?"
"I told you, you look very familiar to me.Do we go to school together or something?"
"Did the police catch who killed your cousin?"
"No, they never found him."
"Any leads?"
"None that I know of.Why the hell do you care anyhow?"
"Like I said, I use to know him."
"My cousin was a ten-year old kid, how could he ever possibly have a fucked up friend like you?How do I know you're not his murderer?"
"Because I said so."
"Fuck you, I'm calling the police."
As she got up and reached for the phone, I reached out and grabbed her wrist.A mental connection was made.I saw her being abused by her father, and then she would let out her anger and aggression by cutting herself with kitchen knives or razors.I saw her trying to overdose on painkillers, but it didn't work.I see her crying on her bed, with cuts and bruises on her body.And she saw me for who and what I am.
She stood back with very wide eyes."It can't be you, can it?" she mumbled out."Anything is possible.So I assume you believe what I'm saying now?"She nodded."Good, now help me find the motherfucker who did this to me and my parents," I said."Follow me," she said.I follow her into her bedroom.
She opens up her closet and pulls out a box.Written with black marker on the box are the words GAVIN'S STUFF.She lays the box on her bed and opens it."It's mostly your clothes and toys.Your old teddy bear is in here."I walk over to the box and look down into it.
Lying on top of some folded clothes is my old teddy bear that my dad gave me.I pick up the teddy bear and more visions come to mind.Christmas morning is always the most exciting time of the year for a child.I wake up and rush to get my presents.Of course there are clothes, but wrapped up in a box is a teddy bear my dad bought me.
I gave my dad the tightest hug I could.And when he left to go to work the next day, I would never see him ever again.He was murdered the night after Christmas.I roar with anger and throw the teddy bear across the room.Margaret runs over to her dresser and pulls out a pack of cigarettes from her sock drawer.She hands me a cigarette and a lighter.
I sit on her bed smoking, trying to block the horrible images of my father's murder from my mind.Margaret picks up the teddy bear and looks at it.There are bloodstains on it."I still can't believe any of this…I'm fucking dead, but I'm not dead.I'm hunting down a murderer so I can murder him.Eye for an eye.Blood for blood."Margaret sets the teddy bear down next to me and says, "I don't think its eye for an eye, or blood for blood.I think its love.If you didn't love your parents so much, then your soul wouldn't have had the strength to come back.I guess love is stronger than death."
I look outside her bedroom window and see the three crows perched on a tree. "Yeah, I guess it is."I stand up and say, "It's time.I have to find the one who did this to us.If not, my soul will never rest."Margaret says, "Let me help you."
Her older brother was sent off to boot camp.She goes through his things and finds stuff useful to me.A black t-shirt, black army style combat boots, and a black bandana to cover up my bullet-hole head.Right before I'm about to leave, she tells me to wait.She connects a portable CD player to my belt and hands me the headphones."I've got a kick ass heavy metal CD in there.Should set the tone and get the blood pumping," she says."Thanks.I'll be back later."I put on the black and silver headphones and push play on the CD player.
Outside, the crow known as Draco leads me over to someone's pickup truck.In the bed of the truck is a large chain.I take the chain and wrap it around my waist.Should strike some more gothic fear into the heart of evildoers everywhere.God I wasn't cut out for this "hero" bullshit.
As if on cue, it begins to rain.As I'm running through somebody's yard, I pick up some kid's skateboard and begin skating down the streets.The three crows fly through the air, leading my way.They lead me straight to the police station.
Two Blind Mice 
The rain pours down heavier on me, but no heavier than the weight of pain on my soul.I welcome the cold rain with a wide smile.I walk around to the back entrance of the police station and break open the door with a simple push.The crow named Taurus flies inside while the other two crows wait outside.
I walk through the halls of the police with complete silence, just another shadow on this dark night.No one sees me, no one hears me.I am the enigma with black wings.The crow leads me to the evidence room door.Once again, a simple push breaks open the door.The crow flies inside to lead the way, but I already know what to look for.
In a filing cabinet labeled WA, I find the file on my parents and me.According to the police report, the same bullets used to murder my father were also used to murder my mother and me.This indicates that the same gun was used to kill us all, and therefore the same suspect.Also within the file are photos of the crime scenes.More visions of bloody death enter my mind.I can hear my father's last scream, my mother's final heartbeats, and see my final tear hit the floor.
There is a photo of the closet door where I hid.My mother's blood splattered a mysterious symbol of a bird on the door.I hold the photo up so the crow can see it."So you guys have been watching me from the very beginning?" I asked.I look at the picture again and grin, "Nice craftsmanship."The crow caws and flies onto my shoulder.I continue through the police report and find a name.
Although there were no solid leads, they did have one suspect.A Mr. Gary Cage.He was arrested near the scene of the crime shortly after the murder of my mother and me.He was raping a 14-year old girl in the back of his van.He is in prison now for the rape of 14 other 14-year-old girls.The name of the prison and cell number is given.Thank God for detailed police reports.
As I'm putting the folder back in the cabinet, a picture falls out.I pick it up and look at it; it's a family picture of us.Suddenly I can see my father's face melting away in bloody chunks.Then I remember sitting in the closet, hugging onto my teddy bear, while listening to my mother get raped and beaten right outside in her bedroom.I remember her screams, the moans of the forceful man, and the sound the bed made as he raped her.
The crow flies away from me as I scream.I pick up the whole filing cabinet and throw it across the room.The music of _Slipknot_ fuels my dead adrenaline even harder.I bang my fist through walls and kick over more filing cabinets.I roar with anger and pure rage.Two police officers come into the evidence room with their guns drawn at me.
"What the fuck is he suppose to be?It's a little early for Halloween isn't it pal?" one of the police officers says."Do you like judging me?You must think I'm insane for the way I'm dressed and the way I'm acting.I'm sorry officers, please accept my apologies," I say with my hands up in the air like a caught criminal.
"Shut up shithead, just keep those hands where we can see them," the other police officer says."Do you know that the eyes are the windows to the soul?Tell me, what do you see when you look into my black cold eyes?" I ask."Goddamnit shut the fuck up!We don't care about any of this mental bullshit," one of the police officers yells.
"Oh but you should care!Because when I look into your eyes, I don't like what I see.And neither does my friend," I grin.The two officers look around, one of them yells, "Okay, come out where we can see you!""Your wish is my command," I laugh.
Taurus the crow flies out from behind me and attacks one of the officers in the face.It pecks its beak into his eyes, stabbing and ripping them out.While the sight of gore before him distracts the other officer, I pull out my gun and shoot a bullet through each of his eyes.The two officers fall to the floor at the same time, both of them dead.
I laugh and dance over their bodies, screaming, "'I could see, I could see, but I'm going blind!'"I know more officers will be coming quickly, so I disappear from the grounds just as easily as I appeared.Back outside on the wet streets, I hop on my stolen skateboard and let the crows guide me to the prison.
Convictions
The three crows land on the barbwire at the top of the tall fence stretched around the prison.I climb up the fence and use my supernatural strength to rip two pieces of the barbwire off.I jump over the fence and land safely on the inside.I take the two pieces of barbwire and wrap one around each hand.Any cuts made by the barbwire heal.I take a moment to look at my new weapons, and then I continue my way towards the prison.
Just like the police station, it is rather easy for me to sneak into the prison.Break open a few doors, sneak by a few guards, and boom your walking down the dark halls of the sleeping inmates.All three crows fly shortly in front of me, always leading the way.We stop at cell D-17.
Gary Cage is sitting in the corner of his cell, shaking very violently.He holds up a small wooden cross, whispering, "It is the Devil himself.Oh God give me salvation!""What are you babbling about, rapist?" I ask.He points to the three crows now perched on my shoulders and head, and says, "I have seen them in my nightmares!They have been haunting my dreams ever since I was arrested that night three months ago!"
"Is that a fact?And why do you think you have had these nightmares?"
"God is going to judge me for the crimes I have committed."
"And what crimes are those?"
"Taking away the innocence of all those girls.I really should have kept my hands to myself, but I couldn't resist!I swear I couldn't…"
There's a bible on the floor by his bed.I say, "Temptation was the fall of man, Gary.As men are we destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over until the end of our lives?"Gary continues to shake and tremble, not taking his eyes off of the three crows perched on me."I don't know man, I just pray that God has mercy," he mumbles out.
Within the blink of an eye, I am standing in the cell with Gary.The three crows fly up and down the halls."'Inside my shell I wait and bleed'" I quote from a song playing in my headphones.I pick up the bible and open it and laugh at what I find.The inside has been hollowed out to hide a syringe full of morphine.I take the syringe and drop the bible to the floor.
"How did you get all those girls to lay down with you, Gary?How did you lure them into the van?"
"Different ways.Some with money, others I had to gag and drag.But two of them came along willingly, little sluts."
"Tell me Gary, where do you think a child goes when it dies?"
"I dunno, Heaven I suppose."
"Nope.It goes with its mother hand in hand down the yellow brick road!"
I stab the needle into his left eye, injecting all the morphine into his head.He shakes violently and is able to let out a scream.I put my finger up to his lips and say, "Shhh, you'll wake the dead."The crows begin cawing to warn me of approaching danger.
I look down at his body and whisper, "God does have mercy, Gary.But I don't." Through the eyes of the crow, I can see armed guards running towards Gary's cell.I rip off Gary's right arm and use it as a bloody paintbrush to write a message on the cell wall.
The guards get to Gary's cell too late.They arrive to see Gary lying on the floor with a syringe stuck in his eye and one of his arms missing.Written in blood on the cell wall are the words, "'I KNOW WHY JESUS WEPT, MOTHERFUCKERS'"."You better call the warden, he's going to have a field day with this one," one of them says.Another one says, "Somebody check the security tapes and see what the hell happen in here!"


	2. Razors and Barbwire

Razor Blade Smile

Razor Blade Smile
Dawn approaches, and with it the rain stops.I skate my way back to the trailer park where my cousin Margaret lives.She's sitting at the kitchen table reading some papers.I sneak up behind her and yell out, "BOO!""Oh fuck!" she screams out.I laugh really hard as I sit in a seat across from her."I'm really starting to enjoy this back-from-the-dead-ghost-shit," I say.
"Damnit don't do that shit, you nearly gave me a fucking heart attack!" she yells.I sigh and ask, "So what are you reading?""I went over to a friend's house and got on the Internet.I found out some info that you might find interesting."
"Like what?"
"Well, it was an ancient Indian belief that crows carried souls from this world to the next.But if that soul carried with it such a great burden of pain, the crow had the power to bring that soul back to set the wrong things right."
"Let me see that."
As she gives me the papers, I notice several small cuts on her arm and wrist.I grab her arm and see visions of her taking razors to herself.Late last night her father came home and beat her again.Once he was gone, she hid in her bedroom and cut herself, trying to bring herself that ever more closer to death.
"Why do you let him abuse you like that?" I ask.She gets up from her seat and says, "What do you care?"She walks into her bedroom, but I'm already sitting on her bed when she gets there."Damnit, didn't I tell you to stop that shit!" she cries.She sits on the floor with her arms around her legs and begins to cry.
I sit down on the floor in front of her and put my hands on her shoulders."Talk to me cousin," I say.She looks up at me, black mascara running down her face from her tears.Kind of reminds me of, well, me.She cries, "I just wish mom never left!Things were so great when she was around.My dad never laid a finger on me when she was alive.But as soon as she died, he started hitting me.He blames me for my mom committing suicide."
"Do you blame yourself for your mom's suicide?" I ask.She replies, "Of course I do!Dad just keeps beating it into me, I have no choice but to accept it.And the only goddamn thing that makes me feel better for only a second is cutting myself.I'm punishing myself, because I'm a murderer!"
I put my hands on her face and look straight into her eyes."You are NOT a murderer.You are a beautiful young girl who has her whole life ahead of her!You're only what?16?You've already been given 6 more years than what I ever had!You have to learn to precious the good moments in life, because trust me, you never know when it's all going to end."
"I wanna die and come back just like you," she says."NO, you do not!Do you know how it feels to relive your death over and over again in your head?Do you know how it feels to see your parent's death replayed again and again like a broken record?I will never be able to see them again unless I can find the one who did this.Even though I'm already dead, even though I'm invulnerable, do you know how scared I am?How scared I am that I will never find that motherfucker, and I will never see my parents again?Trust me, you do not want to die and come back."
She wraps her arms around me and begins to cry on my shoulder.I hug her back and say, "Don't worry.I still believe everything has a way of working itself out.God can't be a complete bastard, can he?"She kisses me on my check and just rests her head on my shoulder.
"Where is your father anyhow?" I ask."I don't know.He only pops in long enough to change clothes and beat me before he's out again.I only see him a couple of times a week," she responds.
"Do you have any pictures of him?"
"No.I burned them all a while back.I can't stand to even look at him anymore."
"What about your mother?Do you have any pictures of her?"
"Yeah, there's a picture of her under my pillow."
We stand up and I look under her pillow to find a picture of her young beautiful mother.Of course like everything else I touch, dark visions follow.I see Margaret's mother standing on a chair in a basement.A rope is somehow tied to the ceiling, and noosed around her neck.She is crying violently, screaming out for Margaret.
A mysterious dark figure walks from behind her and holds a large knife up to her throat."Bitch, you can die knowing Margaret will grow up in pain and end up another fucking crack whore," the dark figure says.He kicks the chair out from under her mother, causing her to choke to death.She didn't commit suicide; she was murdered!
I collapse and punch a hole through the trailer floor."My God this can't be real!This is a fucking nightmare!" I scream out.Margaret puts her hands on me and asks, "What?What's wrong?""Your mother didn't commit suicide; she was tied against her will.She was murdered like my parents."
"No, that can't be!" she screams.I scream back, "I saw it!I fucking saw it!She screamed out your name as he kicked the chair out from under her feet.He just laughed as he watched her hang!"Margaret climbs onto her bed and digs her face into her pillow, she cries like she has never cried before.
"Goddamn…" I whisper out before I disappear again.Outside I skate down the streets, the crows flying behind me.For once, I am the one guiding them.I go to the only place I ever-felt safe, the only place I could hide.
Skeletons In the closet
The small house we lived in still had the police tape around the yard.It looks like people broke into the place and stole anything valuable.I wander through the front door and into the living room.I see a vision of a house decorated for Christmas.I sat in my father's lap as he red me a Christmas story.I look away and head down the hall.
When I look in my room, I see the dark figure hitting me with his belt.I scream and grasp onto my teddy bear as my own blood splatters onto the floor and bed."These visions are making me go insane!" I scream as I punch a hole in the wall.I shake my head and whisper, "Goddamn you straight to Hell."
I walk to my parent's bedroom.I see my parents sound asleep one night, and a scared little me comes wandering in."Mommy, daddy!There are monsters in my closet!" I exclaimed.My dad picked me up and laid me down on the bed in between them.My mother gently rubbed my head until I fell asleep that night.
Once again all I can do is look away.I walk to the closet.On the door is the bloody marking of the crow.Suddenly I can hear the giggles of a little boy.I look around and yell out, "Whose there?"No one responds.I sit down in my parents closet and shut the door.I am so tired.I feel like I'm going mad from all the visions I have been seeing.I close my eyes and fall into unconsciousness.
The investigator steps into the warden's office and puts a file on his desk."So, who killed him?" the warden asks."I don't know," the investigator responds."What do you mean you don't know?" the warden yells.
"There were no finger prints from another person.Only Gary Cage's fingerprints were found.The blood on the wall is of course his."
"What about the fucking video tape?"
"That's the strange part.It appears as if Gary Cage was having a conversation late last night with thin air.He seemed to be communicating with someone who wasn't there, like he was delusional."
"What about the part where he died?"
"Another mystery.The camera seems to 'blink'.One minute Gary Cage is alive, the next minute he has a syringe pumped full of morphine jabbed in his eye, and that bloody message has been written from his torn arm.It's like someone used it for a fucking paint brush."
"So someone got into the security room and changed the tapes?"
"No, the guard on duty last night reported no anomalies, except for the fact he thought he heard crows cawing."
"Crows cawing?"
"Yes.And we also found a rather large black feather lying on a holy bible in Gary Cage's cell."
The warden shakes his head and says, "Don't let this shit get out to the media.Cover this up to be a suicide.Reattach his goddamn arm if you have to.I don't want anyone out there to know we've fucked up.""Of course not, sir," the investigator says before leaving the warden's office.
The Graveyard Shift
Night falls once more upon the sinful city.The three crows circle above the dead house, cawing out into the night as loud as they can.Slowly I return to consciousness.I stumble out of the closet and say, "Can't you let me sleep? I just want to go back to sleep and never wake up!"
Unfortunately, I'm not given such an escape.I get back on my skateboard outside and ride down the streets once more.I turn the volume on the CD player up.The beats of _Rob Zombie_ fill my head.I feel like a fucking zombie.Oh wait, I am a zombie.How easy did I forget!
I walk through the graveyard, picking up two fresh roses from other graves.I apologize to the dead for stealing their flowers and only hope that they forgive me wherever they are.I walk to my parent's graves and lay one rose on each of the graves.Briefly I stare at my own grave, at the hole in the ground where my skeleton rose up and bonded with this teenage reincarnation.
"'I'm your boogie man, that's what I am,'" I say to my parent's graves."I don't understand anymore.I don't understand why they chose me to come back.Why didn't they bring you back, father?You're much stronger and smarter than me.Why didn't they bring you back, mother?You always had the will to survive in the worst possible situations.I wish I could just dig my way into your graves and be back with you.But I can't.I have to fix things here, I have to keep the balance!"
The thunderstorm is about to let down another wave of killer raindrops.Tears of blackness run down my face, over the black lines under my eyes."I'm going to be coming home soon.Please wait for me, my beloved parents.Please don't go without me," I say with tears running down my face.
Back on the streets again, I make my way to Margaret's trailer.When I knock on the door, like a regular human being, she yells for me to come in.I walk in and find her in her bedroom.She's lying on her bed wearing only a black bra and panties."What are you doing?" I ask.
"Make love to me, Gavin.I need to feel close to you.I want to share with you the most precious thing I have to offer.We're both teenagers now, we're suppose to do this kind of stuff," she says."You're my cousin," I respond."Incest in the best," she grins.
"No, I did not come back from the dead to have sex.I came back for love."
"And I can give you love, very soft and delicate love."
I reach out for her, wanting to touch her soft flesh.But I close my hand tightly, forcing the thorns of the barbwire into my hand."No, I cannot.This is not meant to be."She sits up and takes my hand into hers.She places my hand on one of her breasts, telling me, "Don't worry, you can't hurt me.I'm use to pain."
The thorns of barbwire cut the skin of her breast, causing blood to run down her body.The blood seems to scream at me, as if some kind of warning.I jump back from her."No Goddamnit!" I yell.She rushes up to me, presses her body hard up against mine, and kisses my cold dead lips.Only when she feels how cold they really are, when she realizes how dead I am, is when she backs off."I'm sorry," she says.
"Don't worry about it.You don't have to live your life like this.You can get away from your father, you can move on to better things!" I say.She says, "I know, I'm just so afraid of him.I'm afraid that if I leave he will just come after me and kill me.""No, my spirit will always protect you.You just have to believe," I respond.
Somewhere deep in the bowels of Hell I can hear the Devil laughing.Laughing like he has just played out some kind of wicked joke.The door opens and slams shut."Hey bitch, get the fuck out here where I can see you!" her father yells.Margaret's eyes get really wide and she whispers, "Oh no, he's here!"
Broken Tree Limbs
Her father takes one look at me, and his half naked and bleeding daughter standing next to me."What kind of fucking shithead have you dragged home this time?Tell this fucking loser to get off my propriety!" he yells."Father stop!" she yells.He yells back, _"Goddamnit you're nothing more than a whore!" _That phrase, that voice, THAT FACE!
My mother had a brother named Lucien.Lucien was my uncle.And Lucien had a daughter, my cousin Margaret.The murderer of my family is Margaret's father!"LUCIEN!" I scream with rage.I charge into him, knocking him off his feet.He falls hard onto the TV set."What the fuck!Nobody attacks me!" Lucien yells.Margaret just stands back and watches.Somewhere in the back of her mind, she has put the puzzle together.
"You son-of-a-bitch!You killed them!You killed me!I am going to rip off your fucking head and shove it straight up your ass!" I scream out with pure fury.I grab him and slam him through one of the trailer walls.Outside the rain is coming down very heavily."Boy, I have no idea what the hell you are talking about!" Lucien yells.
I grab him, making sure to dig the barbwire into his flesh, and say, "Oh, but I bet you do.Does my face not look familiar enough to you?It should, you hit it enough times!"I pick him up off his feet and throw him into a utility shed in the neighbors yard."I am going to break every bone in your body, rip your flesh from your muscle, and feed you to the birds!" I scream.
While lying in the utility shed, Lucien picks up a machete.He gets back up on his feet and says, "You have no idea who your messing with, kid.I could kill you and it would be self-defense!""Did Sondra ever have self-defense?Did Marcus stand a chance against a gun?Did your wife tie that rope around her own neck?Yes, please tell me about fucking self-defense!" I yell.
Lucien has to stare into my eyes for a few moments until it finally dawns on him who I am.He remembers.Although puzzled at how one of his victims could come back to life, he dashes forth.I am not afraid; I'm invincible.Any wound he makes is only going to heal itself, and then Lucien will be in some serious deep shit.He will be the one afraid.
But the three crows fly above, cawing to give out a very serious warning.Lucien slashes the machete across my neck, nearly decapitating me.I collapse to my knees, holding my neck in my hands."I guess now I'm going to have to finish what I started, aren't I boy?" he says."Fuck you," I grunt.He laughs and says, "Spoken like a true fallen hero.See you in Hell, shithead."He kicks my head with all his might, separating my head from my shoulders.
Margaret stands in the rain.She watches with horror at the events unfolding before her.She screams when she witnesses my demise."No, get up!You have to get up!" she yells.Lucien just stands over the body, laughing.
The three crows line up next to each other and swoop down over the body.As they pass, the body disappears from sight.Lucien stops laughing.He runs up to Margaret and puts the tip of the machete up to her neck."It's time for you to pay, little whore," he says.Margaret can only cry.
Eternity
Swarming around in complete darkness.I scream but no sound can escape from my dead lungs.The black oil surrounds me once more, swallowing me whole.I have died again, I have failed my mission for love.It all happened so quickly.At one moment I was invincible, but then in the next moment, I lay beheaded on the ground.
The three crows swooped down and took my remains from the World of The Living and back into the Realm of The Dead.I am a fallen angel, a bird with broken wings.No disgrace or pain could ever be greater than this!
In the darkness, I make out the faint noises of screams.Familiar screams.I can make out the sight of my parents, drowning in the black oil.I try to scream once more, but nothing comes out.I reach out for them, but they are too far away.They are doing their best to hold onto one another.I fight as hard as I can to reach them, but it is too late.They sink and disappear into the darkness.
I hold my face in my hands, weeping tears of blood.I have lost them forever.Another sound reaches my ears, the giggles of a young boy.I look up to see the boy with the skull mask reaching down towards me from the surface of the black oil.I reach up and take hold of the young boy, and he pulls me up.
What more can she do but cry?There is no hope, only pain.Margaret sits in a room, locked up.She holds onto Gavin's teddy bear with dear life, just like little Gavin did so many times before.She is still wearing only her underwear, but is now covered and smeared in her own blood.Lucien used his machete to make cuts all over her body.
She huddles up into a ball on the floor, keeping the teddy bear near her heart.Outside her room she can hear her father Lucien walking around, playing loud country music on the stereo.She has no idea where she is or what he plans on doing.All she remembers was being thrown into the trunk of a car and driven for at least an hour.He took her out of the trunk and they were in the woods somewhere.He dragged her into an old house in the middle of nowhere.
Eternity waits for no one, you wait on it.No matter what we do, no matter what happens, time will continue to tick on forever.Gavin stumbles through the rainy streets and makes his way back towards the trailer park.There are no crows to guide his way, no one to point him in the right direction.
He comes to the trailer and walks in.No one is here, but there is blood on the walls and floor.When he touches the blood, no mad visions, just the warm wetness of the blood.But somehow Gavin has the deep feeling that it's Margaret's blood.
He walks into the bathroom and looks into the mirror.A few things have changed about his appearance.The mask of The Crow is gone.Now only his own blood runs down his face from the bullet hole in his head.There are stitches around his neck also.Gavin removes the black bandana from his head and stares into the bullet hole.He can only mumble out, "Motherfucker."
Enraged he punches the mirror, smashing into pieces.The glass and barbwire around his hand cause several cuts.This time, the wounds do not heal; he feels the physical pain of mortality.He has lost his invincibility, his powers are now gone.
Outside in the rain, he finds the broken CD player and headphones that Margaret gave him.The wire to the headphones was cut when he was beheaded.Gavin picks up the CD player and feels something strange come over him.He feels drawn to a certain place, a house in the woods.He drops the CD player to the ground and lets out deep sigh.
A full moon shines down through the dark thunderclouds.Gavin looks up at the moon and then back at his barbwire hands."Tonight you are going to pay!" he screams out into the night.He takes off running back into the city.
Death Ride
Lucien opens the door to let all of his disturbed friends in.All of them are addicted to something:Drugs, sex, violence, and death.They are Lucien's ring of associates.They are the only ones who know about the murders and dealings he has done in the past years.They share everything together.They are a ring of murderers, the round table of the Devil's knights.
"Soon the auction will begin, so just grab a beer and make yourselves comfortable!" Lucien says.Inside her locked room, Margaret can hear all the people coming in.She wonders what the hell is going on, what Lucien has planned.But she doesn't let go of Gavin's teddy bear.
In the woods, I can see golden eyes in the trees.There seems to be hundreds of them, all watching me.I stand in the woods, glaring right back at them.But then in the blink of an eye, they are all gone.Softly a black feather falls on the ground before me.I smile wickedly to myself and keep on running through the woods.
I approach the old house with caution.There are cars and trucks parked everywhere around it.I can hear loud music being played from inside, and through the windows I can see many individuals partying.I hide in the shadows and watch closely through one of the windows.
Lucien disappears into a hallway and goes into one of the back room.Margaret screams and kicks as Lucien drags her out into the larger living room where everybody is.The crowd of people begins cheering.Anger flows through my veins when I see the condition she is in.But I notice her carrying my teddy bear.That's how I was able to find her; I remained connected with her and the teddy bear even without the powers of the Crow.
Now the next dilemma I faced.How do I go in and seek out my vengeance and save the damsel in distress?All of those people inside are drug dealers, murderers, gang members.If I was still invincible I could just walk in with ease and kill them all, but now?I'm going to need some help on my side.
Lucien ties a rope from the ceiling around Margaret's neck.He makes her stand on a small wooden chair.He whispers into her ear, "Just like your mother."He then faces the crowd and says, "Okay, the bidding will start at one thousand dollars!"The monster is auctioning off his very own daughter!
I have to do something, and I have to do it quick.I look through the vehicles around the old house.In the fourth vehicle I come across, I find a button that opens up the trunk.The car must belong to some kind of gang member, because there is nothing but weapons in the trunk.
"There is a God," I whisper out.I take a fully loaded shotgun onto my back, two Uzi machine guns holstered to my side, a large knife strapped to my leg, and two pistols stuffed under my belt.I cock the shotgun and say, "Time to rock the house."
"Two-thousand!" a woman yells out."Three-thousand!" a gang member yells.Lucien can't stop smiling.The money is just going to roll in.He can take their money, pack up his shit, and move onto another city to haunt.Someone yells out for $4000, another $4,500.Soon Lucien just begins to laugh, but Margaret can only cry and hope that God is listening to her prayers.
A voice screams out from above, "'Come on, Come on…'"Lucien stops laughing and along with everyone else, he looks around for the source of the voice."'Get up, get up'" the voice screams again."Who the hell is that?" Lucien exclaims.Margaret stops crying.She recognizes the sound of the voice.
Crashing through the center of the old wooden ceiling, I fly down towards the floor with the corners of my jacket in my barbwire hands.My torn jacket looks like big black wings as I soar to the floor.I quickly take hold of the two Uzi's and scream, "'South Texas death ride, you motherfuck!'"
I open fire upon the crowd.Blood and shreds of flesh fly everywhere.Some of the people in the crowd start pulling out their own weapons.I feel a bullet grace my shoulder, but I keep mowing down the crowd.I run and jump through one of the windows when I see too many of them with guns.
"That fucking asshole!" Lucien yells, "I'll teach that bastard to fuck with me!"He kicks the chair out from under Margaret, causing her to choke.I pop up outside a window and aim my guns."Not this time!" I yell.I shoot bullets through the rope choking Margaret, the rope snaps, and she collapses to the floor.Another bullet rips through my stomach, but I ignore the pain.Adrenaline can be the best shield.
Some gang members come running outside to catch me.I jump into a tree and hide.I holster the two Uzis and take hold of the shotgun.When the gang members walk around into my sight, I say, "Seven eight, lay them straight!"Their bloody corpses hit the ground without their brains intact.I hop down from the tree and make my way around to the back of the house.
A woman with a sword is waiting at the back door.She looks like some kind of witch or S&M model.I pull out my large knife and sneak up next to her.I chop off one of her hands and then stab the knife through the center of her head, sticking her to the back door.I pull out the two pistols from my belt and walk into the house.
Three guys are talking with Lucien."Man, who the hell is that guy?" one of them asks.Lucien responds, "He's a fucking dead man.""I know that much, when we catch him we're gonna kill him!" another one says.Lucien shakes his head and says, "No, I really mean he's a DEAD MAN.I killed him and his mother three months ago.Now he's back.""Lucien I think you've smoked too many joints, dead people don't come back!" a guy says.
I put a bullet through the center of each of the three guys."I beg to differ," I say.Lucien, with machete in hand, grabs Margaret and holds her in front of him."Go ahead bird boy, shoot me now.Could your soul rest if you killed her?" Lucien yells."'Du hast mich?'" I say."What?" he asks.I answer, "You hate me?It's German."
"Not as much as your gonna hate me after I cut off her pretty little head!" he says, pressing the blade of the machete closer into her neck.A little bit of blood flows down."Why Lucien?Why all the bloodshed and murder?Why did you kill me and my parents!" I scream.
"Oh, you want to know why?Because I fucking wanted to!Because I can!I kill for the pure joy of it.There's nothing quite like raping your own sister, and then killing her and her bastard son.Now, I'm going to kill you again!"
Before I can say or do anything, something very hard hits me across my head.I collapse to the floor.Blood runs down the side of my head from a very deep wound.I look up to see a large black man holding a wooden baseball bat with nails driven through it."Oh fuck," I mumble out.The black man keeps beating me with the nailed bat, tearing away at my flesh and bone.
Right before I lose consciousness again, Lucien yells, "Stop!He's mine."He throws Margaret to the side and walks over to me.He picks me up to my feet and slams me against a wall.He stabs the machete through my stomach and into the wall.Blood rushes up and vomit out of my mouth.
Lucien laughs and says, "Goddamn youth of America!You're worthless, Gavin.You and your parents were nothing but worthless.Always were, and always will be.Now I want your last thought to be the fact that I'm going to chop Margaret into little bits and feed her to dogs.Just like the little whore that she is!"
I lower my head, slipping ever so closer to darkness.I can hear the laughter of a small boy.I open my eyes and look up.I can see the small boy with the skull mask standing next to Margaret.The boy is holding my teddy bear.He reaches up and takes off the skull mask.I see myself, the way I was when I was 10 years old.
Outside I can hear the sounds of crows cawing."What the hell is that?" the black man asks.Through a broken window, the three crows known as Merlin, Draco, and Taurus fly into the house.They fly straight into the black man's face, ripping and clawing his face off.He falls on his back screaming.Merlin stabs his beak and claws into the black man's neck, killing him.The other two crows each take an eye and fly away.
Lucien looks at me and says, "You did that, didn't you bird boy?You are defiantly going to pay for that one!"Margaret looks up at me, right into my eyes, straight into my soul.She whispers out, "I love you, Gavin."
I didn't come back from the grave for revenge.I came back for love.In life, I loved my family very much.In death, that love has not died, but merely increased a thousand fold.A smile crosses my bloody face, and I begin to laugh.Lucien looks at me with curious eyes and asks, "What the hell are you laughing at?"
"'You can't kill me cuz I'm already inside you!'" I scream with insane laughter.The ribs around my chest open up and the small skeleton reaches out and grabs Lucien.For the first time in his life, Lucien is the one who is afraid.
The small skeleton tears it's way inside Lucien and they collapse to the floor.Lucien screams with great amounts of pain, and all I can do is laugh.Lucien shakes and trembles violently on the floor.The skeleton snaps and twists all of Lucien's bones from the inside.Finally the violent motions stop, and Lucien lays dead on the floor.

Ashes to Dust
I grab hold of the machete and pull it out of me.I drop it on the floor and walk over to Lucien's corpse.I stare down at the dead body of the monster that has caused my family and me so much pain.Even after he's dead, I still hate him with all my soul.I roar and slam my barbwire fist into his skull, smashing it to pieces like a fallen pumpkin.I look over to see Margaret sitting on the floor holding my teddy bear, shaking and crying.I take off my shredded jacket and wrap it around her body."Come on, it's time to go home," I say.She stands up into my arms and I lead her out of the old wooden house.
We stand outside of a hospital in the city."Look, go inside there and get treated for those wounds.Tell them to call the police and alert them about all the dead criminals at that house, ok?" I ask.She nods and asks, "What about you?Where are you going?"I take in a deep breath, a heavy sigh, and respond, "It's time for me to go home.My parents miss me."
She looks down, trying to hide the tears flowing down her face.I lift up her head so she can look me in the eyes and I say, "Don't worry, we'll meet again one day.I promise.But I have to go now.""But who will watch after me now?Who will be my knight in shinning armor after you leave?" she asks.
I smile and say, "Oh don't worry, I'm leaving you a friend behind to keep an eye on things for me."I look over her shoulder and wave.The crow known as Merlin sits on top of an ambulance.Margaret smiles and gives me a big hug.I hug her back and whisper into her ear, "Goodbye."By the time she whispers it back, I'm gone.Merlin caws and flies onto Margaret's shoulder.Margaret looks up at the crow and says, "So pal, buddy, partner, comrade, what next?"
The cold wind breezes by me and sends chills all throughout my body.I stand before our graves, looking down at them.I look up at the sky and whisper to myself, "I am going to miss this place."
I stand on top of my tombstone and hold my arms out.The wind blows harder and harder, the world seems to get colder every second.Slowly my body turns to ashes, blowing away into the cold harsh night.
The next day Margaret visits our graves.She's wearing a black dress with a black veil.Merlin the crow circles around the air above for a moment and then lands in a tree near our graves.Margaret kneels in front of my tombstone and lays down my teddy bear on my grave.She kisses her finger and touches the teddy bear."No more pain," she whispers before walking away.

The End


End file.
